A bright light emanated in the natural darkness of the shadow fell and its inhabitants wailed in anguish.

The Shadow Man raised his gnarled head, all three eyes narrowing to see the light coming closer. For a moment nothing registered until a soft silhouette of a creature of light emerged.

"YOU!!"

"This fight is no longer yours, my friends. Go, find and seal the Black Gate." Came a soft heavenly voice of a beautiful fae/celestial form of Caliaphy.

"Is THAT, Caliaphy?!" Irzen asked no one in particular.

"Caliaphy?!" Prince Birch asked staring at the beautiful form, "Who is Caliaphy? I see a wonder of wonders before my eyes." In explicably the Elven Prince pulled out a scroll and a quill pen, "I feel a poem coming on!"

"Wow! Pretty!" Quake's eyes enlarged at the kurori's true form.

"Right! Madeous, Irzen, Quake. Let's go!" Captain Lion motioned over to them, "We've done all we can!"

"Time to go, your Highness!" Lord Irzen grabbed Prince Birch by the arm and dragged him after himself.

"But--but--"

"Flee now, wax poetic later!" Irzen responded to Birch's protests, "We still have a job to do here!"

As the group headed further away from the ensuing battle between Caliaphy and the Shadow Man. Beams of black and white magic exploded behind them.

"Everyone, get on, Quake." Madeous jumped up onto her back, "Irzen is right, Prince Birch, this is not the time to write a song or story. This is about the survival of you and your people."

Irzen hopped upon Quake's back and Birch followed as well, "Right you are, King Madeous, priorities priorities! My land and my people come first! Later, once we have emerged victorious from this struggle, then AND ONLY THEN, shall I compose a song celebrating our triumph!"

"Be still my beating heart," The Swordsman muttered under his breath as he waited for Quake to move.

Quake moved with ease on the ground within the Shadow Fell, in fact, her movements were silent, eerily silent. The memory of her and Alyson traveling back in time beneath Stormhaven allowed the elemental dragon to navigate the dead earth all the way to their final destination. Coming to a stop overlooking a ridge into a clearing some fifty feet below, was the Black Gate. It was only partially opened but enough to leak through into the mortal world. A mix of green and blood soaked arcane runes circled the pentagram. It pulsed like a heartbeat.

Captain Lion whispered, "There's our target."

Madeous pulled down the visor on his helm, "Indeed."

Quake's entire body shuttered, "This looks a lot like the one the Lady and I saw underneath Stormhaven."

"They all look alike, Quake," Irzen added as he readied his weapon, "All of them have the same function. All of them have the same source of power."

"It looks like it is alive." Prince Birch gasped in a harsh tone of voice, "As though it is sucking the life out of The Shadow Fell itself--if one could say anything is alive here."

"That's because it is alive, Prince Birch." Captain Lion studied the arcane runes, "The dead have no heart beat but this gate does. It's power stems from the hells and the Far Realm. Leaking into the Shadow Fell just makes the dead far more deadlier to defeat. All it takes is one of the living to prick their finger to wake it up."

Madeous gripped his sword tighter, "In otherwards watch your footing and watch what you stab down there. We need to close it not open it up."

Quake shuttered, "At least Venger isn't here with all of his rivals like the one the Lady and I saw in the past."

"Look, Quake, let's keep our villain encounters down to a minimum on this mission, okay?" Irzen replied, "The last thing we need is to invoke the name of Old Horned Head in THIS place."

In the distance of the Shadow Fell, a high and terrible scream erupted for a minute then fell silent. It was followed by a beam of pure white light and the eerie silence of the Shadow Fell resumed its deadening persona once more.

Quake's ears perked up as she turned towards the noise, "Sounds like the Shadow Man is no more."

Captain Lion nodded, "Indeed."

"Good riddance!" Irzen added in agreement.

The Black Gate skipped a beat as if in response to its deadly benefactor's demise. No longer able to keep a steady beat, the pulse slowed down and the greenish-red glow dimmed.

Madeous patted the elemental dragon, "Time to finish this. Keep your eyes open. My experience tells me, there is a final boss we haven't seen yet."

Both Irzen and Birch scanned the area with their weapons at the ready in case of an attack.

+++++

"Ah. I see," Lazheros rubbed his chin, "And how far does your ancestry go back? Centuries?"

"My personal ancestry can be traced back to the Melinbonean Scholar Numar-Nandie Sudestren who lived, studied and used to walk the very streets of East Port over a millenia ago." The Sage scratched his head, "Unless, of course, you mean't something else by your question, my lord?"

"And do you know of the Black Gate that resides beneath your home, Sudestren? Probably not. Some things are or were have been here long before your people settled. They are of an age long forgotten." Alyson's voice merged with both Perthonexio and Deargerax taking on a mixed draconic image.

"Fascinating!" Sudestren turned towards Alyson, "Do you know you have two dragons residing within you? But in answer to your question, yes, I am well aware of The Black Gate beneath East Port. But there is nothing to fear, the Gate is not only closed but the Black Gate itself is sealed deep in a cave with a heavy obstruction covering the entrance." With supreme confidence in his voice, Sudestren added, "Nothing short of a Cave Troll can move it!"

Lazheros pinched the brow of his nose, "And when was the last time anyone ventured down there?"

"Ninety-seven years ago," Sudestren replied without hesitation, "Once every hundred years, a small detachment of Clerics, Champions and Paladins of Labelas Enoreth venture down there to make certain the obstruction covering the entrance is in place. It is due to be visited three years from now. Why do you ask?"

Lazheros crossed his arms and gave the Sage a hard stare, "Someone found out or knew of the Black Gate beneath East Port. Two, whoever it was may have discovered it by accident or on purpose. Where do you think the vampires are coming from?!?"

"Vampire packs have been known to roam or travel from city to city in search of sustenance," Sudestren replied evenly, "Likewise, Necromancers have been known to travel to lands teeming with life as well. I assumed the source of our current troubles with vampires was either the work of an undiscovered Necromancer OR the result of a vampire pack coming to East Port."

"Vampires are exceptionally strong, Sage. Even by themselves they can take on several mortals but if they worked together, their combined strength could easily move aside any boulder of that size." The three voices of the elementalist spoke again. "Yes and we have yet to acquire more dragon spirits."

"Why would you want to acquire more dragon spirits?" Sudestren began to take more interest in Alyson, "And how do you keep control? How do you maintain order? With so many dragon spirits inhabiting your body, one would think that there would be a conflict. But I sense no struggle or conflict within you, how is that possible?"

"We are two of six pieces of the Crimson Dragon armor of legend. We hail from the Age of Dragons in its prime. Three Gold and three Red set aside their differences to fight a powerful foe. If you do not close the Black Gate, it will continue to gain strength the longer its open, the vampire menace will continue." The three voices of the elementalist spoke as one.

"I see!" Sudestren replied, "So, does your coming together again mean that The Realm faces another powerful foe in the near future?"

The elementalist stood up before the sage, her entire form took on a draconic aspect and in one unified voice, "For the sake of you and your people, I hope not less you want to face, Orcus, the Demon Lord of the Undead all alone."

"It would be good to know either way," Sudestren countered, "If you are the harbinger of something darker, then we will have time to prepare for it. If you are NOT the harbinger of something darker, then it is good to know that we are safe."

The Bronze Man joined Alyson, "Perhaps, its time to send down a group of trusted individuals to see if this boulder is still place, Sudestren."

"I have not the authority to do so," Sudestren replied, "Only Sylvus Kiltani, Grand Cleric of Labelas Enoreth, has to power to authorize an early entry into that cavern."

******

"Oh well," Serna shrugged her shoulders, "So what are we supposed to do now?"

"Wait." Maxim shrugged.

"Gee, can you be anymore cryptic, slayer." Spencer pointed a finger at him.

"How about we play another game?" Serna suggested to no one in particular.

"A sound idea." Spencer ushered Serna back into the captain's quarters.

Maxim and Sir Gonagle followed suit. Round two of UNO was about to begin.

"NEAT!" Serna smiled to everyone, "I'm looking forward to a rematch!"

Spencer sat down next to Serna and began to shuffle the cards again and deal them out.

Maxim took his seat and gave the girl a smile, "So, young miss, do you think you can best me?"

Sir Gonagle chuckled.

"I KNOW I CAN!" Serna declared boldly, "I used to play card games back in Deeping Dale all the time. This one is no different than any other--at least, once you learn the rules. Have any of you ever been to Deeping Dale?"

The three of them looked at each other and turned to her in unison. "No. We've been as far as East Port and back to Asylum but no further."

"WOW! You guys should get out more," Serna replied with a grin, "There's WAY more to the Realm than just The Fire Sea, you know."

***BLINK!!!***

In a flash of bluish-white light within the captain's cabin on the airship, Caliaphy appeared. The light was so blinding, that left everyone seeing spots for the next few minutes. Sir Gonagle barely managed to put his goggles on in time. Spencer and Maxim fell out of their chairs and Serna found a very tired Kurori asleep on her lap.

When Serna's eyes recovered their focus, the Shield Maiden looked down to see Caliaphy asleep in her lap. She quietly scooped her up in her hand and placed her on her shoulder where she usually liked to rest.